Back to school planning will look different for many parents this year. It’s not just school uniform that will be a priority. The current pandemic situation means a lot of parents will feel anxious and children may feel uneasy about the changes and new rules put into place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Kensington Mums share top 10 tips to get ready for back to school. Make sure you read their back to school guide filled with back to school essentials and children activities.
Learn The New Routine
Learn the new routine for drop off and pick up prior to the start of the term. This may mean a new entrance or exit, to drop off and pick up, different drop off times and different timings for year groups.
Review Hand Washing Techniques
Practice proper hand washing techniques with younger children so it becomes more habit-like. And explain to them why it is so important.
Prepare Your Children For Social Distancing
Talk to your children about precautions such as social distancing from other children, and why it is necessary and how they will be put into bubbles of 15 or less children.
Start To Establish A Bedtime Routine
It’s best to start to establish a good bedtime routine now before school starts. Over the last 6 months, your child’s bedtime routine and sleep patterns may be all out of sync which will make a routine a little more difficult to get back into. Start now with getting them to bed earlier and waking up earlier. This will make your mornings much easier once they are back at school!
Carpools
If you are doing a rota with another family, ensure masks are worn on the journey.
Policies
Find out the schools policies if they need to shut due to a positive Covid-19 case. This will help you to be well-prepared for possible future closures.
School Tools
Organise your children’s pencils, pencil cases, bags, PE kits. Make sure PE kits are fully labelled to ensure they don’t confuse theirs with anyone else’s.
Make Sure Your Child Is Happy And Excited About Returning
This is the most important of all as you don’t want your child to feel anxious about going back to school. Make sure you talk to your child and that they voice any concerns or worries they may have.
Preparing Yourself
Get prepared for the school drop off. As much as at the moment it may seem like you will be elated, it may surprise you as a parent how anxious you and or your child are after the 6 months off and pandemic concerns.
So practice saying your goodbyes by role playing; making sure you take a turn at pretending to be the child, as well as the parent.
Organise
Check what you need now for school now while there is still time to order online and go to the shops. Don’t leave it until the last minute or you may find they have run out of the sizes and colours you need! It is important to get your kids organised.
Most of all good luck and enjoy!
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Award-winning website Kensington Mums was launched in 2011 and now commands an audience of over 48,000 affluent London based mothers. Established by Dina Maktabi with the aim of sharing knowledge and experiences to help fellow mums learn from one another. She has created her own Mama tribe platform where mums share experiences and advice to stay in the loop. Not just parents in Kensington but London and even globally. Kensington Mums is now a comprehensive one stop shop for people on their parenting journey, who want to be part of a bigger network to support each other, read interesting articles, see what’s happening in London and much more.
